By Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News
The longtime home of fashion designer Regine Traulsen and her husband, former Palm Beach Town Councilman William “Bill” J. Diamond, has changed hands for a recorded $16.175 million on the North End of town.
Traulsen sold the house at 220 Wells Road as trustee of a trust in her name, the deed recorded April 1 shows. Traulsen was joined on the deed by her husband.
The house is familiar to many Palm Beach residents and other guests who attended the couple’s elaborate Moroccan-themed parties there, with at least one of those gatherings featuring a pair of live, bejewel-dressed camels.
On the buyer’s side was the 220 Wells Road Trust, for which Palm Beach real estate attorney Guy Rabideau serves as trustee. Rabideau could not be reached for comment.
Because of privacy rules governing trusts, no other information about the buyer was immediately available in public records.
The Palm Beach Regency-style house has four bedrooms, a pool cabana, an expansive motor court and a two-car garage. In all, the gated property has 5,788 of living space, inside and out, records show.
Traulsen and Diamond have downsized to a condominium they bought in 2021 at the landmarked Palm Beach Biltmore at 150 Bradley Place, also on the North End.
Broker Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens held the listing for the Wells Road house, which entered the market in early January, priced at $16.95 million.
Moens was unavailable for comment, but his office confirmed he also represented the buyer.
In early 2004, Traulsen paid a recorded $3.765 million for the Wells Road house, which was built in 1999, records show. The midblock lot of nearly a half-acre is the fourth one west of North County Road, about a half-mile north of Royal Poinciana Way.
Traulsen bought the house after the couple moved from New York City, where Diamond had headed the Department of Citywide Administrative Services under then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Diamond played key roles in the Giuliani administration’s response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Giuliani officiated at Diamond and Traulsen’s 1996 wedding at Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City mayors.
In Palm Beach, Diamond pursued his interest in real estate, became active in the local Republican Party and served on the Town Council from 2009 to 2016.
Traulsen, a native of Morocco, had a fashion career in New York City, which included designing caftans. She also worked as a fundraiser for Republican candidates.
The one-story house Traulsen just sold has architectural signatures of the Palm Beach Regency style, including a flat roof, a symmetrical facade and classical elements that include urns at the roofline.
The same sort of classical elements — including columns and detailed moldings — are found inside, where the floors are covered in marble tiles.
With generously proportioned rooms, the interior layout suited the couple’s desire to entertain. Foot traffic flows easily from the front door through the main living areas and out to a loggia fronted by a bank of sliding-glass doors. The freestanding cabana building stands on the opposite side of the pool patio.
Glass doors in the formal dining room open to a separate loggia with walls decorated with colorful Moroccan motifs.
The layout also includes a well-equipped kitchen, where Traulsen frequently cooked, according to stories in the Palm Beach Daily News.
Traulsen bought the house from the late C. Gerald “Gerry” Goldsmith, a former town councilman whose career included investments, banking and real estate.
At the Biltmore, Traulsen and Diamond in January 2021 paid a recorded $2.12 million for their two-bedroom condo, Unit 0104, which has 1,463 total square feet, property records show. Corcoran Group agents Paulette Koch and Dana Koch handled both sides of that sale, according to records in the multiple listing service.